Accused Newark airport security breacher told police he just wanted to see girlfriend

Star-Ledger composite photoHaisong Jiang, seen right at Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.NEWARK -- In a statement obtained by NorthJersey.com, the Rutgers graduate student who authorities say breached security and caused a locked down Newark Airport told investigators he just wanted to spend time with his girlfriend before she left New Jersey.

The Rutgers doctoral student from China is scheduled to appear in Newark Municipal Court on Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. on charges he slipped through to a secure area at Newark Liberty International Airport. Haisong Jiang said in the statement he did go through the gate without a security check, but he did not tamper or leave anything once he was inside. He also said he left the airport immediately after his girlfriend boarded the plane, according to the report.

A Transportation Security Administration guard assigned to guard the post was placed on administrative leave, the report said.

Jiang, who is in the United States on a student visa from China, could face 30 days in jail and a $500 fine if found guilty of the defiant trespass charge. An airport surveillance video of the incident shows Jiang ducking under a security ribbon before meeting his girlfriend, who was about to board a flight for California that day. The video also shows the couple embracing and walking off holding hands, after a security officer stationed there briefly left his post.

The breach locked down Terminal C for nearly six hours, causing flight delays and changes that affected thousands of passengers.